Retail

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods is opening new stores in Wyoming and Kentucky on Oct. 25. The new stores are located at the Eastridge Mall in Casper, Wy., and Gary Farms in Bowling Green, Ky.

The Casper store will be Dick’s first store in Wyoming, and the Bowling Green will be the retailer’s ninth store in Kentucky. Dick’s will have a total of 547 stores as of Oct. 25.

Specialty home décor and gifts retailer Kirkland’s is looking to foment customer loyalty with the launch of a K Club Rewards loyalty program on Oct. 20, which will offer consumers exclusive discount opportunities and points on eligible purchases.

“We are excited to offer our customers a new way to earn rewards when they shop at Kirkland’s,” said Mark Krebs, Kirkland’s VP of marketing. “Our goal was to make this program customer-centric, simple and fun, and we have been pleased to hear positive feedback so far.”

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. named  Michael L. Ellis, senior VP of retail divisions, as president COO effective January 1, 2014, completing the succession plan announced in September.

In September, Kroger announced that chairman and CEO David B. Dillon will retire as CEO on January 1, 2014, and will continue to serve as chairman through December 31, 2014. He will be succeeded by W. Rodney McMullen, Kroger's president and CO, effective January 1, 2014.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores will reportedly close 20 underperforming stores in China next year as part of an overhaul of its Chinese operations. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart is restructuring its business in China, including a new management structure and more efficient purchasing operations.

However, Wal-Mart still plans to open 100 stores in China during the next three years. A Wal-Mart executive said the stores being closed there do not have ideal locations or layouts.

Scanbuy, a leading mobile engagement solutions provider, has released its quarterly trend report showing that it processed nearly 24 million mobile barcode and NFC scans in the third quarter this year, demonstrating continuing strong growth in usage and interest by mobile consumers.

Scanbuy’s trend reports analyze the traffic on the ScanLife mobile app. Highlights include:

Salt Lake City – Overstock.com reported year-over-year gains in net income and revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2013, which the company partially attributed to growing participation in its Club O paid loyalty program.

Net income increased 31% from $2.7 million to $3.5 million, while revenue grew 18% from $255.4 million to $301.4 million. The growth in net revenue was primarily due to a 16% increase in average order size, from $147 in third quarter 2012 to $170 in third quarter 2013, coupled with a 2% increase in orders.

New York — Famous Footwear has leased its second Manhattan location at 48-50 West 14th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Union Square, according to Winick Realty Group. The 7,800-sq.-ft. store is a block-through retail site with 50 feet of frontage on 14th Street and 25 ft. of frontage adjacent to the New School entrance on 13th Street.

Ripco represented Famous Footwear in the transaction. Winick represented the landlord, CB Developers.

Columbus, Ohio - On Oct. 14, 2013, shareholders of DSW Inc. approved a two-for-one stock split of DSW's common shares, along with approving an increase in the number of Class A common shares authorized for issuance. The company plans to effect the stock split on Nov. 2, 2013, by filing an amendment to its articles of incorporation.